Coke Studio (Pakistani TV program)


Coke Studio is a Pakistani television programme and international music franchise which features live studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artists. It is the longest-running annual television music show in Pakistan running annually since 2008. Coke Studio combines a myriad of musical influences, from traditional classical, folk, Sufi, qawwali, ghazal and bhangra music to contemporary hip hop, rock and pop music.
The show is noted for promoting Pakistan's multiculturalism by inviting artists from various regions and of various languages to collaborate musically.

History

The concept for the show was created in 2007 by Nadeem Zaman The Coca-Cola Company, when musical performances were held on a concert-like platform in Brazil. In 2008, the concept was adopted by Nadeem Zaman, then Marketing Head The Coca-Cola Company in partnership with former Vital Signs member Rohail Hyatt, who planned to launch a Pakistani version of the show. The inaugural season premiered in June in front of a live audience. The show was produced by him, along with his wife Umber Hyatt. It was an immediate success, receiving critical acclaim and frequently being rebroadcast on numerous television and radio stations in the country. In season 2, live audiences were excluded and performances were held in a closed studio platform, a format which continues to this day. Hyatt remained as executive producers for the show until season 6, stepping aside in 2013 after five years. He was replaced by Strings members Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia until on 29 October 2017, when Strings announced season 10 would be their last production. On 8 March 2018, it was announced that Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi will be producing season 11. They stepped down after producing the season.Later on, Rohail Hyatt returned for the twelfth season of the show which released on 11 October 2019.
On tenth anniversary of the show in 2017, the General Manager of Coca-Cola Pakistan & Afghanistan Rizwan U. Khan stated, "We have come a long way since we embarked on this challenging journey a decade ago. Looking back, we feel greatly humbled that Coke Studio has been able to achieve so much, in terms of bringing virtually unknown or little known musicians into the national limelight, re-introducing music genres like qawwali and sufi music to the youth of Pakistan, continuing to stay true to the promise of producing quality fusion of music and practically playing an important role in reviving the music industry of Pakistan."

Format

The show features artists in each episode, by a house band and guest artists. Coke Studio tracks are officially available on their YouTube and SoundCloud channels.
The most engrossing fact about Coke Studio is the impeccable music which is recorded live by veteran artists.

Coke Studio Explorer

The producers Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi introduced Coke Studio Explorer in which they went to several places across Pakistan to discover regional music stories and singers to bring them to the lime light. The series was released on 3 July 2018.

Reception

Following success in Pakistan after its first launch, Coke Studio has become an international franchise. The Pakistani show has amassed a large fan following in neighbouring country, India. The success of the show prompted Coca-Cola to launch the Indian version Coke Studio @ MTV, with a similar format, which has proven to be both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. The Indian version has been produced by MTV India. In April 2012, an Arab version of the show, Coke Studio بالعربي was launched in the Middle East featuring performances by various Arabic and international music artists, produced by the songwriter Michel Elefteriades.
Coke Studio has also been seen as an economic process of transnationalism and as a transnational television production, with its production systems being created and augmented by global flows of artists, technology, distribution and economics. Within this process, economic structures are created, opened and even reoriented; influences are borrowed and music produced; communities and heritage discovered and remained – this is done intellectually and physically, and more importantly, transnationally.
On 1 November 2017, Atif Aslam's rendition of Sabri Brothers' qawwali "Tajdar-e-Haram" in CokeStudio8 crossed 100 million views on YouTube, becoming the first video originating in Pakistan to achieve the landmark record. It has been viewed in 186 countries across the world. The record was broken by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's rendition of "Afreen Afreen" ft. Momina Mustehsan, on 3 November, becoming the second video of Pakistani origin to mark 100 million on YouTube. It released on 19 August 2016, with Faakhir who served as music directed for it; it was originally performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
"Coke Studio continues to break records and over the years it has driven the cultural leadership agenda of Pakistan, celebrating diversity while bridging barriers relevant to the youth of today.Now we are looking forward to the upcoming season next year raising the bar even higher."

Seasons overview

Below is a list of featured artists who have performed in Coke Studio. In season 9, Afreen Afreen became the most viewed Pakistani video on YouTube currently now with 300 M views on it.

Season 1 (2008)